A Reading Programme for Children with Autism, Speech and Language Impairments and Down syndrome

Progression in Small Easy Steps

The reading programme supports children who are strong visual/kinaesthetic learners with clear uncluttered illustrations and large easy to read text. It fosters achievement through success and praise by setting developmentally appropriate targets such as finding the hidden elephant, Boo, to reading the text using the supporting information clearly shown in the brightly coloured illustrations.

Some children will be able to read all the text on the page; others will be able to match the targeted words on each page. Others may enjoy a shared reading experience whilst finding Boo in the illustrations. After reading the story, talk about what you found funny. Ask your child to point to anything in the illustration they think is funny, discuss it and laugh about it together.

Using Games to Reinforce Learning

The books have a set of Word Cards to play lotto, comprehension and sentence completion games and to use in Name, Match and Select activities. Matching games on each page and games at the back of each book offer tools for learning, revision and assessment.

The use of Word Cards is an important feature of the reading scheme; they offer many opportunities to consolidate and revise. The following games can be played with the Word Cards:

• Matching — the child matches a Word Card to the corresponding word in a sentence, in the green box at the end of each text page or in the games at the back of each book.
• Selecting — the child selects the word from a number of Word Cards on a verbal or signed cue.
• Naming — you hold the Word Card up for the child to see and they sign or say the word in question.
• Hide and Seek — hide the Word Card in the book, under their pencil case, etc., and ask the child to seek and say the word.
• Posting — post the words using a post box (either home made or from another game) and have your child say and post the Word Card.
• Fishing — there are many such games on the market, some with big wooden fish. Using ‘Blutac’ stick the Word Cards onto the fish and have your child fish for the Word Card and tell you what it says. Alternatively you can easily make your own fishing game by putting a paper clip on the Word Cards and using a home-made fishing rod with a magnet on the end to fish the word from either a box or bowl or whatever is to hand. (Caution —younger children require supervision for this game.)

Strategies to Work Out Unfamiliar Words

When children first start out, it is important to supply words they struggle with so that the flow of the story is not lost and the experience of reading is rewarding and fun. As your child progresses with their phonic knowledge and grows in confidence in their reading ability it is important that they begin to learn how to work out words they are unfamiliar with.

Try the following strategies to help your child to self-correct when they are stuck with a word:

• Allow them time to think what the word might be. Say "Look at the picture to help you."
• Say "Look at the first letter and tell me the sound," then encourage them to try the word again.
• Say "The word starts with..." and give them time to decipher the rest.
• If they give you the wrong word say "Can we say it like that; does that make sense?"
• Help them to sound out the word.
• Tell them the word after they have had time to have a go.
• Get them to re-read the sentence with the given word.
• Get them to find the corresponding Word Card and match it in the text.